Lionel Wide Vision Caboose "CSX" w/ Camera

Never any discussion on a focus knob. Let us know, if it is an issue gonna cancel ours prior to pick-up.

Is there a protective plastic film over the window, similar to the theater car?

I am getting mine in a day or so so I will let you know.

Thanks....I did check for any film on the caboose window and none apparant.   I have had it in all resolution formats the app provides but it it is still noticiably blurry.

-Pete

Apparently they only did a partial shipment on these. Charles Ro just told me 4/10/19 for the PRR version.

Maybe the second shipment will be in focus.

Perhaps Lionel will take a cue from NASA with their Hubble telescope, and provide a corrective lens.  

I got my shipping notice from Charles Ro today so my Norfolk Southern should be here Thursday. 

Neal Jeter

Those who do receive their Cabooses this week, please post your impressions.

-Pete

Wow, I just can't believe they could screw up anything. Guess the quality control still isn't in place.

I took apart one of my two theater cars and detailed the interior.   In doing so I had to remove the camera mount and I played around with the location of the camera and I found the closer you moved it to the glass the worse the picture got.  It was more noticeable on pictures than in the video feed.   I’ve played around with these quite a bit.   These are not the high quality video machines everyone is accustomed too.   But I think for what they are and what they cost it’s a deal.   Now with that being said I am I anxious  to see what his issue is.  I saw video from one of these at York and it looked just like the theater cars so I’m interested to see what the deal is here.   Everyone keep there pants on until we get some more of these in folks hands.   Then we can all be ****ed.  Let’s hope not.  

Finger print or dirty lens maybe? I was about to buy a BN version. Ruh row

There was a time when I took a lot of photos.  A common comment in photo mags was to put a plain glass filter over the expensive glassware to protect it.  I also had a desire for undistorted images.  That led me to set a tripod at the front door and a large gridded target at the fireplace.  I had a shifting lens that I could rotate through 180 deg and a 2x extender made for short lenses.  This gave me a 70mm side looking lens that would copy onto slide film the same detail visible to the eye at the camera location.

I was hunting big game.  I had spotted a new Ontario Northland 50-foot boxcar in dark blue and the yellow zig-zags, without a spot of dust or dirt on it, up in Baltimore set out next to a little-traveled public street.  I went to the tripod, slipped my gridded focusing screen in, and tested for pincushioning in both directions followed by a check that the detents to flop 180-deg to look sideways the other way was exactly in the same plane.  To Baltimore!  Kodak made two 10 x 7.5" color print enlargements for splicing.  I think they were very close to being exactly O-scale (each technician used his own magnification for "8x10 full frame", but the Kodak color fidelity was always impressive).

The moral here is, if you want undistorted results, don't put anything thicker than a gel film filter in the lens' light path.  Then only if you have to.  So, having spent $25 on this TV camera, cut the molded plastic insert out of the window.  Wasn't that intended to diffuse light, not transmit it?     --Frank

PS-- Camera should be able to see signals if towed behind TMCC F3 that uses postwar-dimensioned shells and has a trailing cab (F3A) unit.  In rare instances, a train could have a caboose on both ends. 

My Theater car picture when i first put it in the track seemed a little blurry - so i was debating to send it back -but  i tried it yesterday and it is clear and provides a great picture - didn't do anything  - i am getting a caboose this week and will try it - hopefully it will be ok 

Grampstrains posted:

tom21pa posted:

Wow, I just can't believe they could screw up anything. Guess the quality control still isn't in place.

Nothing like making an issue when we don't know for sure there is one.

Indeed. Unless I'm reading the thread wrong there's been a grand total of one person reporting an "issue" so far. Sure, that may change over time but let's get a valid sample. Duh.

 Pete, if you tried it out as soon as you got it. I wonder if the camera lens could be fogged due to the cold temperature of the mail truck/box/outside . 

I also wonder if this explains why Ted K's theatre car was blurry "at first".

I imagine it would take a least a couple of  hours for the inside of the car to warm and a fogged camera lens to clear.

i did run it in a cold garage - good idea that the temperature may fog the lens

thanks

I totally agree...mine may be an isolated incident....I thought since I had mine...others should have theirs too.

just looking to see if anyone else has this problem or if I overlooked something.

-Pete

Can you share of video from the caboose?

Here are two snapshots from the cupola....picture quality is the same whether it's a video or a snapshot.

tom21pa posted:

Wow, I just can't believe they could screw up anything. Guess the quality control still isn't in place.

this whole ordeal reminds me of the crayon car where the crayons would not even fit into the holes in the cover 

for the crayon hopper.

BFI66 posted:

Here are two snapshots from the cupola....picture quality is the same whethernits a video or a snapshot.

 

Looks pretty standard to me.   Very comparable to the theater cars.  

Really....that is in HD mode too.....not what I expected at all....

-Pete

Not a complaint....just an observation......original post was just looking for impressions and whether I overlooked something to make the pic more focused.  

-Pete

BFI66 posted:

Really....that is in HD mode too.....not what I expected at all....

-Pete

The price point on these is roughly 20-25 dollars more than the standard widevision.   I respectfully disagree on expectations of a 20 dollar camera setup and a free app.  

And I respectfully disagree with you....now can I hear from someone who actually has the caboose and whether they experienced the same issue......

-Pete

I dont have one but I saw a video on a O gauge FB page this morning using one of these caboose cams the guy just got and it looks good! 

Jim

Thanks Jim.....I’m just looking for good...not blurry.  I understand that I am not getting NSA quality.....but you see the pic.....it looks like the lense needs to be tweaked a bit.....something is definitely wrong here.

-Pete

The image should be much clearer than that. I'm going to look into some samples today.

Thank you, Dave

Appreciate the reply....

-Pete

Those images are NOT the same quality as the images from my theater car.  The images from my theater car are much more clear and crisp than the images from the caboose camera.  Jeremy Ferrell do you have a theater car?  

I assume the resolution on the camera can be set? What’s the resolution?

T4TT posted:

Those images are NOT the same quality as the images from my theater car.  The images from my theater car are much more clear and crisp than the images from the caboose camera.  Jeremy Ferrell do you have a theater car?  

I do Sir.   I have two.   Clearly I’m missing something here quality wise everyone else is seeing.   Hopefully my caboose cam arrives soon so I can compare them.  

BFI66 posted:

And I respectfully disagree with you....now can I hear from someone who actually has the caboose and whether they experienced the same issue......

-Pete

If Dave says it’s a problem then it must be.   Regardless hopefully it’s an easy painless fix to get us.  As a community what we’re looking for here.    

breezinup posted:

Perhaps Lionel will take a cue from NASA with their Hubble telescope, and provide a corrective lens.  

What, me worry?

My Union  Pacific camera Caboose is somewhere between China and my house.   Looking forward to receiving it. 

shawn posted:

I assume the resolution on the camera can be set? What’s the resolution?

Shawn my above pic are in HD.

-Pete

carsntrains posted:

I dont have one but I saw a video on a O gauge FB page this morning using one of these caboose cams the guy just got and it looks good! 

Jim

What FB group was that on please?

Bill

Jeremy F. if your theater cars are generating images as blurred as the ones posted in this thread you may want to consider requesting RAs from Lionel.  My UP theater car and the car on demo at my LHS generate images far better than those posted in this thread.